Representation of car drivers and driving in the German cinema newsreel (1950–1965)

Before the introduction of television, the newsreel was a powerful medium in the cinema: moving images, accompanied by music, sound and commentary, shaped people’s views on national and international issues. East and West German newsreels reported separately on the economic boom, including the car industry and motor sport. In the 1950s, newsreels focused on small cars, the successful rise of the automotive industry, exports, and safety issues. This article shows how newsreels in the West reported on the car as a status symbol, especially from the 1960s onwards. In the East, the reports show the car as a necessary everyday vehicle, although not easily accessible to most people in the socialist economic system – a fact not addressed in the newsreels. Environmental pollution caused by car traffic was not an issue in the newsreels, neither in the East nor in the West, unlike the increasing number of accidents

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